Paper Tiger
by TheOtherShin
Summary: The suspicion among the members of the Seirin team is that Kagami has a secret girlfriend he's too shy to reveal, but it turns out his lips are sealed for a different reason. More accurately, they're sealed against Aomine's.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Hyuuga, could I borrow you a moment?"

The captain of Seirin's team looked up perplexedly at the coach's call, but obeyed after a moment, wiping sweat from his forehead as he moved off the court to the sidelines.

"What's up?" he asked, taking off his glasses to clean one of the lenses on his shirt before replacing them on the bridge of his nose.

"Take a look at Kagami for me…" Riko said, not glancing at him, her eyes focused calculatingly on the player in question as he evaded his opponents - which were, at the moment, merely other teammates - taking a flying leap and delivering the ball like a lethal weapon to its goal.

Concerned for a split-second, Hyuuga tensed and turned his gaze to Seirin's ace as well, but relief loosened his features just as quickly, "He's playing just the same as he always does, what's the problem?"

Riko waved off his casual dismissal quickly, "No, look at his neck."

Hyuuga was, if possible, even more baffled, but he conceded once again and studied Kagami as he sent a blistering pass to one of his allies, turning his head and baring the side of his neck for a moment. At the base of it, just above the juncture of his shoulder, and also just below his ear, were darkened, reddish areas of skin, circular and rather faded, but still visible.

"Are those…?" Hyuuga began.

"Hickies." Riko nodded seriously.

The captain blinked and gave a rather nervous chuckle, "Uh...I was just going to say bruises."

Riko looked at him as if he'd announced that he was going to quit basketball and take up competitive squirrel wrestling. "Who gets bruises that shape - not to mention that dark - in a place like that?"

"...Fair point," Hyuuga muttered, not pleased by the exasperated glare he'd been given, "But what does that have to do with anything? I mean...why is it our business if Kagami has a…?"

"Aren't you curious?" Riko interrupted, tilting her head slightly, "If he's got a girlfriend or something, why hasn't he mentioned it? The guy's not exactly tight-lipped."

"But he can be shy," Hyuuga pointed out, impatient for this bizarre conversation to be over so he could go back to playing and save his teammates, who were currently getting flattened by the unstoppable natural disaster that was Kagami on a roll….mysterious new relationship or no. "Maybe he's embarrassed. What, are you going to ask him who it is?"

Riko looked thoughtful for a moment, tapping her pencil against the side of her clipboard, "Nope," she finally declared, "You are."

"M-me?" Hyuuga stammered, affronted and sure a flush was creeping up his face, "No! I-I don't want any part of it. What do I care if Kagami's hooked up with someone?"

"Well he's the first one of you miserable eggs to actually manage that feat, isn't he?"

Hyuuga found he was questioning the sanity of his coach more with every word out of her mouth. "...This is sounding an awful lot like something that'll only spark gossip to me. That could ruin the trust between team members. Besides, it's not a big deal if Kagami doesn't want to share."

Riko gave a disparaging sigh, "I knew I should have asked someone else...you boys wouldn't get it; even Momoi might have been a better choice."

"Fine, alright?" Hyuuga grumbled, "I'll ask him who it is. Once. I'm not going to hound him, and if he doesn't want to answer, that'll be that."

To his surprise, Riko's face lit up, "Great! Be sure to report back to me with anything you find out."

_She's treating this like some huge mystery that's vital to all of our survival to uncover._ Hyuuga thought, with an edge of something like mortification.

"Well, what are you standing around for?" Riko said briskly, "You don't have time to chat, get back out there and help your teammates."

…_.Really?_ Deciding not to argue, Hyuuga just heaved a sigh and did as he was told, wondering why he subjected himself to this madness when he could play streetball against himself and avoid all the drama.

.

.

Kagami was exhilarated, and couldn't stop smiling to himself as he toweled the sweat from his neck, pleased by how the practice match against his seniors had gone. Thanks largely in part to him, his senpais had been utterly trounced, but that was no easy accomplishment, especially considering he did most of the work himself. Sitting down on the locker room bench, he took a gulp of water from his bottle….and then promptly almost spat it everywhere when Kuroko spoke from right next to him.

"Kagami-kun?"

Recovering from near cardiac arrest at his sudden appearance, Kagami swallowed and turned to face his "shadow", "Yeah?"

"I think Hyuuga-kun wants to speak to you,"

Kagami blinked, "What makes you think that?"

"Well," Kuroko said slowly, "He keeps approaching you and opening his mouth, but then he'll go kind of red and close it again. He seems to be conflicted."

_Sounds like it…_

"I'll talk to him."

"I think that would be wise," Kuroko nodded, "That kind of rapid blood flow is probably not healthy for him."

_Always the observant one._ Kagami smirked just slightly, but when he turned to answer his teammate, he'd vanished as suddenly and silently as he'd appeared in the first place. Sighing, he got to his feet and changed quickly into his street clothes, glancing at his watch. _Forty-five minutes...I'm cutting it close…_

"Hey, Hyuuga-senpai?" he prompted dutifully, catching the captain just as he was edging toward the door, looking like he was retreating.

Hyuuga jumped, and turned to face him, "What is it?"

"Er….I was just wondering if...there was something you wanted to...tell me, or ask me, or something?"

"Wh-why do you ask?" Hyuuga stammered.

Kagami shrugged, "It just looked that way." _To Kuroko, but that's not the point._

"Well there was...something I'd been meaning to ask."

"I'm all ears," Kagami muttered. _For about ten minutes, tops. _

"Well Riko was watching us play today. I mean...she always does, of course but...she was watching _you_ and...she seemed to be under the impression - and this is her talking, not me - "

_I've never seen him so nervous…_ Kagami thought to himself, scratching the back of his neck.

"...That you'd...I dunno….started dating? Gotten into a relationship?" Hyuuga looked at him expectantly, but also as if he was afraid of being zapped by a bolt of lightning Kagami would wrathfully send down on him.

But Kagami did not feel wrathful. The exact opposite in fact, he was taken aback. _Was I seen? Were _we? _Did she hear something from…?_

"Uh…" he stalled, considering bolting...or changing his name and fleeing back to America where he would be safe from the revenge of Riko….maybe.

"So I mean, I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind...telling. Who is she?"

Relief washed through Kagami, so powerfully that he almost laughed out loud. "No one. I don't have a girlfriend."

For a second - so briefly that Kagami wondered if he'd imagined it - Hyuuga's eyes narrowed skeptically...stark contrast to his stammering and flushing a moment ago…but he just straightened his glasses and gave a sheepish smile, "Hey, my mistake then. Or...coach's. Sorry for the confusion!" And with entirely too much haste and good cheer to be believable, he clapped Kagami on the shoulder and left.

Kagami waited until after he was out of sight, or hearing distance, and then let out a deep sigh. _Well that was weird…_

Gathering his things, he followed after, departing from the locker room, and then the school, breaking into a jog because man, was he late. The sun was going down, but it wasn't as cold as it had been the past week - thankfully, as that made running much easier - but he could still see his breath. Winter had not quite loosened its grip yet. To his dismay, when the street corner finally came in sight, the bus was already braking at the stop. Sprinting frantically, he managed to catch up just as the doors were closing, forcing himself between them. Taking a step back so he could dig in his pockets for change, gasping for breath from the exertion of running so quickly, he only managed to fish out a single coin.

"That's not enough fare," the bus driver grunted, eyeing the measly offering.

"Please sir…" Kagami panted, holding out the coin, "I have to be on the other side of Tokyo in twenty minutes…!"

"Sorry, kid, I can't help you…" the man sighed, turning the lever to close the doors again. Kagami started to protest again, but had barely gotten a word out when he was drowned out by a crackle of thunder, rain starting to spatter on his head.

The man looked at him helplessly, switching on the windshield wipers, which promptly flicked more water at him as it started to pour harder. Kagami had resigned himself to either going the shorter distance home to get dry, and calling to apologize...or slogging through the downpour for miles and putting himself at serious risk for pneumonia, when the driver seemed to sigh and the doors sprung back open.

"Alright fine, hop aboard."

Kagami blinked and looked up, "Really?"

"Yeah, but I'm writing you an IOU….as long as you'll stop giving me those puppy-dog eyes and making me feel heartless."

"Th-thank you! I'll pay you back tomorrow, I promise!"

"Yeah, yeah, get out of the rain and sit down before you catch your death."

Kagami nodded rapidly and almost tripped over himself climbing aboard, taking a seat and hugging his soaked, thin Seirin jacket about himself in a futile attempt to get warm.

The ride was short enough, or it seemed that way, and it only rained more viciously the longer Kagami was aboard, sheets of it streaking down the windows as thunder and lightning raged overhead. It was only a matter of time before he had to get off and face the storm, and as the bus driver gave him a curt farewell, he trudged down the sidewalk, shoulders hunched against the wind and driving rain, grumbling to himself about the benefits that would have come with buying a decent umbrella.

When he finally reached his destination, he was completely drenched to the bone and shivering violently, certain he had enough water in his shoes to fill several swimming pools. He raised his hand and knocked on the apartment door, immensely grateful for the balcony above shielding him from getting more wet….though really, it was a moot point. The only way he could be more wet would be if he drowned.

After a minute or two, the door jerked open, at the same time that an irritable voice addressed him through it.

"About time! Every day, somehow you manage to be later than -" Aomine broke off, looking Kagami up and down, something akin to sympathy coming into his dark eyes, "Well shit, you're soaked…"

"Thank you, Sherlock." Kagami quipped dully, "Are you going to let me in, or just admire the scenery?"

"Alright, no need for sarcasm, sheesh." Aomine muttered, stepping aside to invite Kagami into his abode.

"This coming from the king of sarcasm himself. Can I take off my shoes?"

"I should hope so. You'll be lucky if you can save them, they're so waterlogged….and I am _not_ lending you mine again."

"Relax, I'm not touching your precious Jordans again." Attempting to wring water from his hair, Kagami stepped out of his shoes, noting the puddles accumulated in them.

"You didn't have to walk through all that rain just to come here, you know…" Aomine said after a moment, in a noticeably softer tone.

"Yes I did," Kagami sighed, "We both know you would have gotten pissy and started suffering withdrawal if I didn't show up."

"Hey, I am always pissy. And I would _not_ suffer withdrawal after just one day -"

"Alright, then I could just leave." Kagami said casually.

"Don't -!" Aomine objected, before seeming to get ahold of himself.

"Thought so."

Aomine snorted dismissively, crossing his arms and sitting on the arm of his sofa, "I just meant you shouldn't have to go back into that storm; if you caught a cold you wouldn't be able to play one-on-one against me for awhile. And then what would I do?"

"You would be very bored, and would have no choice but to feed me chicken soup and read me bedtime stories until I was well again." Kagami teased, taking off his jacket, as it was serving its opposite purpose right now and was just making him colder.

"You'd like that wouldn't you." Aomine rolled his eyes, "You know you'd be lucky if you didn't catch a cold already."

"Do I look like I'm sneezing to you?"

Very slowly, Aomine smirked and stood up, striding over to him, "No, but you are a shivering mess. You look pathetic."

"I'm flattered." Kagami said sarcastically, trying not to let his teeth chatter as it would only prove his rival's point.

"I think we should fix that," Aomine continued, as if he hadn't spoken, moving closer until they were nose-to-nose, "And I know just what will warm you up."

Before Kagami knew what was happening, his legs had been tripped out from under him, and he fell to the floor, Aomine falling with him in a tangle of limbs, pinning him down on the carpet and snatching his blue lips urgently, pressing between them with a domineering tongue. Kagami gave in and let his eyes flit closed, surrendering to the heat, the familiar tang he'd quickly grown addicted to, and the overwhelming muscle and strength that was Aomine. He would have walked for days and nights through a full-blown monsoon if this was his reward.

TBC

_((New story, new shipping...what a concept. Not sure yet what the plot for this one is going to do, so we'll see how it goes. Updates for both this and Ice are impending, but I needed to try a different tone for Aomine since I realized he's really just a big occasionally-vicious puppy._  
_I dunno reviews would be much appreciated and stuff I guess._

_-Shinsun))_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Aomine hadn't given much thought as to who he would like to date; he wasn't like Kise, who surrounded himself with a harem of girls everywhere he went, nor was he like Tetsu, who happened to draw a chick with D-cup breasts right to him without even trying. Aomine might have been jealous of this at one point if said mammarily-blessed chick didn't happen to be a close friend of his...someone he'd known since childhood. If he was to be honest, he wasn't all that interested in relationships or kissing or any of that….certainly not the lovey-dovey hand-holding, flower-picking nonsense he'd seen employed by certain couples around his age. And it was only when he'd battled against Kagami, with both of them in the Zone, that he'd felt….what might have been classified as attraction.

He supposed it was fitting; the only person he wanted - and not just oggled at in his various magazines, really _wanted_ - was the only person who'd become the exception to the statement that had become his self-imposed rule: "_The only one who can beat me, is me." _ Kagami was an equal. Something he hadn't thought he'd ever find, and he was certainly more entertaining even off the court than a good deal of other people he'd met. He enjoyed spending time with Kagami...he enjoyed their verbal battles and rough teasing, and even just hanging out, which they did on occasion.

And, when he was able, he really enjoyed driving him out of his mind. Considering both of them were hotheaded, stubborn bastards - who at least had the pride to admit it - he had thought there would be a lot more fights for dominance and arguments over who got to do what, but it turned out Kagami was pretty willing to let him have his way, and he was as eager to teach as he was to learn. Sure, he fought back and challenged and even scratched and bit at times, but there was always the underlying agreement that they both wanted it that way. They both wanted a power struggle that would leave marks and exhaust them until they couldn't move anymore.

His excuse now was it was a way to warm his boyfriend up and pass the time, as they couldn't play basketball in the rain, but if it wasn't that it would have been something else. He supposed the bottom line was he liked Kagami. A lot. Of course, he also hated him with a passion, and was biding his time for the right opportunity to crush him to the ground and take back the victory he'd stolen, but he liked the way he could make him feel; not just with touch, but just...with his presence. Even a glance from him was enough to cause this weird pressure in his chest, making it hard to breathe. It was terrifying, but...thrilling, amazing, at the same time.

It seemed he'd finally succeeded in siphoning the cold and the wet from Kagami's skin, and he'd stopped shivering almost as soon as he'd come in contact with Aomine's body, participating in the heated kiss and tangling his fingers in the short hair at the nape of his neck. Aomine had one hand braced against the floor, the other wandering down the supple body laid out before him. Frustratingly clothed, but that could be remedied shortly. Changing the angle of his kiss, attacking from all sides, his fingertips traced down to Kagami's waist, sneaking under his shirt and eliciting a gratifying squirm.

"You like that?" he sneered softly, breaking away both to gloat and to gulp air.

"Going to fuck me into the floor like an animal?" Kagami grunted, breathing as labored as his own, leaning up to attempt to reconnect their lips.

_Tempting, but…_ "You make a good point. We'll relocate." Grabbing the front of his shirt, Aomine pulled Kagami up to hungrily assault his mouth again, getting to his feet without breaking the kiss and guiding him somewhat blindly to the couch, shoving him down on it.

"Maybe someday I'll get to see an actual bed," Kagami teased dazedly, once he'd caught his balance to prevent the momentum from throwing him back to the floor.

Aomine tsked and returned to his rightful place atop his rival, "When we're at your place, you can treat us to the softest feather mattress in creation. But for now; my house, my rules."

"Fair enough," Kagami muttered, "Besides, it's not as far to move this way."

"Exactly." Aomine agreed shortly, "Now, no more talking unless it's begging for mercy." He effectively silenced any further discussion by pressing their lips together again, shifting and rolling his hips against his lover's. Kagami rewarded him with a low moan against his mouth, gripping his shoulders and balling up the fabric of his T-shirt as if to brace himself.

Aomine's hand wandered low, deftly undoing the button of Kagami's jeans and thumbing the zipper down, brushing his fingers against the hardening flesh through his underwear, teasing and rubbing. Kagami made a sound as if he'd choked, a harsh breath expelling from his nose, as his lips were currently occupied. Aomine's tongue snaked into his mouth, greeted with enthusiasm from Kagami's as the two stroked together, and he quickly lowered his own pants a fraction, leaning in and grinding their erections against each other in coordination with the motion, only thin layers of cloth separating them. He couldn't hold in a moan of his own, starting a slow, choppy rhythm as he devoured the mouth in his possession.

With each increasingly rough driving of his hips, he received a more insistent plea from Kagami, whether it was a writhe or a vocalization, or a tighter clenching of his fists. He gave back everything he was given, complementing Aomine's movements and occasionally rebelling against them, giving a bite to his lip or a buck of his pelvis. Aomine raked a hand through his hair, fingers grasping the lower hem of his own shirt, rolling it up his chest and withdrawing his lips long enough to discard it, once he'd pried it from Kagami's grip. It was a subtle invitation, and boy did Kagami take it, scratching his shoulders deep on the next crest of his rhythm, and keeping his hands there, digging in with his nails as though holding on for dear life.

It was a flattering notion...that he needed to anchor himself to keep from coming apart in Aomine's hands.

.

.

Kagami was fairly certain Aomine was going to be the death of him. Whether he killed him intentionally or otherwise, there was simply an aura of danger about him that had a few of Kagami's instincts telling him to either run the other way, or stand and fight until one of them was defeated for good. But he did neither, embracing the threat because it was exciting. Like pressing his thumb against a razor just to see how much pressure it would take to draw blood, or dangling himself off a cliff with fishing line. He didn't think it was healthy, no, but damn did it make his heart race.

When he met Aomine, never in a hundred years did he think he would want to kiss him. Never in a million did he think he would find himself pinned beneath him, all but begging as they frotted and frenched, relishing every new, delicious bit of torture. Aomine was awful for him...but he was the very best person for him as well.

And so, when his rival started to remove the last barriers between them, jerking Kagami's pants and undergarments off his legs, he didn't think of protesting. Aomine had fished in his back pocket - Kagami noticed this because the hand that had been circling at his thigh had moved away - and extracted a small tube of lubricant, pushing his own remaining clothing down to his knees once this was done. Kagami had to strain his neck to see what he was doing, his gaze immediately caught by the hard, thick length, staring at him.

Aomine must have caught him looking, because a cunning smirk touched his face, "Want a taste?"

It sounded like an offer, but to say no could mean punishment….Kagami had learned the rules to Aomine's games well, not that he had intended to refuse in the first place. He nodded shakily, and accepted the impressive arousal as it slid into his mouth, stroking and lavishing with his lips and tongue. He saw Aomine's head tip back slightly, and heard the guttural moan he brought out, lapsing into short sighs and unintelligible, pleased murmurs as he worked at the turgid flesh...he thought he might have caught his name somewhere in there, but it was difficult to tell. Kagami felt a flush of pleasure; it was rare that he got much vocal response from Aomine, or got him to let go for a moment and let himself be taken care of. And even if it wasn't the most comfortable position in the world, and his neck was not going to be happy with him later, he didn't feel any pressing need for things to move ahead...this was enough.

But, apparently, not so for Aomine, and after a moment he snapped out of the near-trance Kagami seemed to have had him in, and withdrew his erection from his mouth with an audible pop. His tanned hand closed on the tube he'd held earlier, and he flipped the cap, pouring a coating of the clear lube onto his fingers, one of which he traced down Kagami's chest, circling a nipple with the barest brush of contact. Then he leaned close and lightly blew on the areas he'd touched, the liquid chilling Kagami's skin as it evaporated. He shivered involuntarily, fighting the urge to squirm and whine as if that would get him what he wanted faster. _Where the hell did he learn that?_ He didn't care...and one of the fingers of Aomine's other hand had hooked through the chain around Kagami's neck that held Tatsuya's ring, pulling him almost into a sitting position, the tiny metal links cutting into Kagami's nape.

One of the lubricated fingers pressed against his entrance, and he hissed a breath between his teeth, fingers knotting in the fabric of the couch. A second joined the first intruder, both stretching and exploring, curling knowingly to find Kagami's pleasure center. He let out a shaky breath, focusing on the indigo eyes, narrowed in concentration, a few inches above him. He leaned up - relieving some of the pressure on his neck - capturing Aomine's lips, and Aomine started in surprise before welcoming the kiss, removing his fingers from Kagami after a moment.

Before he knew it, Aomine had made his foray into his body, gradually sliding into him, inch by inch, until he was fully sheathed. Kagami found himself pausing, trembling with anticipation as if it was the first time, and Aomine drew back before thrusting into him, hard. Kagami groaned softly against his mouth, eyes squeezing shut as Aomine pounded him in earnest. His hands reached up, wrapping around his rival's shoulders to hold him closer, and when the kiss broke so they could both manage to breathe, he could hear strained curses whispered close to his ear on each swelling motion.

"Aomine…" Kagami panted, his voice low and ragged as he met each thrust, his arousal rubbing against Aomine's stomach with every one, spreading pre-cum.

"I don't….hear you begging…" Aomine grit out, gripping his hips and driving upward and inward.

But Kagami couldn't beg; he couldn't convince his mouth to work properly enough to say anything, but he assumed the moans that were edging into incoherent cries got the message across. He'd pushed Kagami to the very edge, and now he teetered there waiting to be shoved off.

Aomine took the chain around Kagami's neck between his teeth and jerked it, causing his head to snap back, and that animalistic action did it. With a strangled shout, he bore up and spattered his rival's stomach and chest, raking his nails down his back and hearing Aomine's satisfied grunt as he followed just behind, holding Kagami's hips hard to his as he released into him. Both of them fought for breath, drenched in sweat, chests heaving, and then collapsed together in a hopelessly entangled mess, too exhausted to even budge.

.

.

Kagami decided he would have understood if no one on Earth saw eye-to-eye with his choice. At first glance, Aomine seemed like an asshole, a brute...hell, even some who'd known him for years would call him those things and nothing more, but Kagami enjoyed more than the primal, callous side of him. Of course there were things about Aomine that he hated; habits and tendencies that made him want to tear his hair out, but there were other things he did and said around Kagami that...he was fairly sure no one else got to see.

For example, Kagami was nearly positive that he was the only one who'd ever seen Aomine reading. He showed such a lack of interest in class, and was generally more likely to throw a book at you than open one, and yet, there he was...lounging on the couch - fully clothed by now - frowning at the pages with intense concentration.

He couldn't help but ask, "What are you reading?"

"I have no idea." Aomine muttered, without looking up.

Confused by this response, Kagami glanced over his shoulder, and then frowned as well.

"Well no wonder. You do realize that book is in English, right?"

"Yes, I realize." Aomine snapped, closing the book around his finger and making as if to cuff Kagami over the head with it. ...Which was almost a relief; it seemed much more like him.

That one act of consistency with the Aomine the rest of the world knew was completely blown out of the water by what he said next, though.

"...Can you read this to me?"

Kagami almost fell off the couch, "What?"

Aomine smirked a little, "Did all that howling make you deaf? I asked if you would read this to me. ...I'd still probably have no idea what it's saying, but at least I'd hear what it sounds like instead of staring at all those weird letters."

"Why the sudden interest in American literature?"

"Not sudden, I've been interested in it for awhile. We were learning about American history in my Japanese history class."

"Ah, the one class you can scrape a passing grade in," Kagami jabbed lightly.

"I can pass any class, I just lack the motivation."

Kagami was silent a moment, "...Alright, if you're not going to laugh at me; sure, I'll read to you."

"Of course I'm going to laugh at you, idiot." Aomine said lazily, "That's half the fun."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"My parents are going to be home soon," Aomine sighed against Kagami's leg. He'd flopped down after a few minutes of listening to Kagami read the foreign language, carefully reciting though even his practiced pronunciation was a bit blurred and unclear. Now the blue-haired man was sprawled lazily with his head in his lap, and Kagami had wondered if he'd fallen asleep, until he'd spoken a moment ago.

Kagami paused, glancing down at him. His face was buried against Kagami's thigh, in an oddly vulnerable position he'd never thought he'd see him in. He could glimpse, peeking out over the collar of his shirt, some of the faint pink lines where he'd been scratched, and the flawless expanse of his back and shoulders was exposed to him, albeit hidden by the layer of black fabric. He had, for the most part, been quiet while he listened, but now and again he would chuckle softly or ask for the translation of some word or other. It was most interesting when he tried to echo the pronunciation, failing miserably when the strange clusters of consonants caused him more difficulty than he'd expected, and then it would be Kagami's turn to laugh, until Aomine threatened to punch his teeth out.

"You should go," Aomine went on, rolling over and sitting up. He stretched, reaching his arms over his head, but faltered after a moment and lowered them with a wince, "Damn….we're going to have to talk about getting your claws clipped."

"You're one to talk, I'm going to have to bring a pillow in to school tomorrow." Kagami muttered, closing the book in his hand, "...Are you ever going to introduce me to them?"

"Who, my parents?" Aomine scowled, "Not unless I want my ass booted out the door before I'm eighteen. You can meet them as an opponent from a rivaling school, but if they knew we were screwing...I wouldn't even have time to say my prayers."

Kagami shrugged, trying not to let his face show pity, "Then you could just crash at my place...we could be roommates."

Aomine gave a humorless chuckle, "Yeah, you wish. I don't think I'm quite far enough gone yet to risk getting disowned by my homophobic folks, but I'll keep it in mind."

It was still hard to believe, Kagami considered, how mellow and harmless Aomine had the capability to be at times; he could almost picture the zealous, smiling kid Kuroko had known back in middle school. There was a moment of drawn-out, pleasant silence, and Kagami could sense reluctance on Aomine's part to break it, but eventually he spoke again.

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Kagami nodded soberly, getting to his feet despite the stiffness of his legs and the ache between them. He started towards the door, but paused when Aomine snapped at him.

"Hey, Bakagami." He whipped around, and Aomine gave him a jester's leer, "No goodbye kiss?"

Kagami grinned and tried to walk like a normal person instead of bounding over like he felt inclined to do. Aomine immediately pulled his head down by his bangs and seized his lips once he was in range, wrestling fiercely with his tongue for a few moments before dragging himself away, only managing to resist a moment before he leaned up a pressed another, softer kiss to his lips, panting lightly.

"Now get out of my house, you idiot." he laughed, reaching out and smacking Kagami smartly on the rear as he turned away.

Smiling stupidly to himself with a warm surge of elation, Kagami threw on his soggy shoes, picked up his jacket, and hesitated in the doorway, pleased to see through the window that at least the rain had stopped.

"_I love you,_" he said softly, almost inaudibly, in English...just wanting it to be out there somehow, to know how it felt to say it.

Aomine gave him an uncomprehending look, but waved him off bemusedly, and for once didn't ask for translation. One of the great things about Aomine was that he didn't pry.

.

.

Aomine hadn't slept well, but that was kind of normal for him these days. He was still just as dead to the world as ever when he did fall asleep, and Kagami had certainly tired him out, but his nights were fitful, and certainly not restful...and he woke up feeling just as exhausted as when he went to bed. When his alarm clocks - plural - all went off in the morning before school he angrily slammed his fist on each one of them to shut them off before curling back up, only to be reawakened minutes later by the nagging of his mother across the hall informing him he was late.

Slithering out of bed, he stumbled into the bathroom to take a quick shower, gritting his teeth as the lacerations on his back stung at the hot jets of water pounding on them, protesting even more sharply when he rubbed soap into them, but the last thing he wanted was large, infected areas of skin that he would have to explain, all down his shoulder blades. He might already have to come up with a believable excuse for the scratches to begin with. _Goddammit, Kagami...now I have to go to school crippled,_ he thought moodily.

He was back in his bedroom, slowly getting dressed while his hair dripped dry, when across the room he heard his phone buzz. Tripping on his own legs, both of which he'd accidentally tried to put through one pant leg at once, he snatched it up and felt an odd sense of disappointment to see it was a text message from Satsuki. Not that he'd been hoping for something else or anything.

'_Walk 2 school w/ me?'_

Typing a painstaking but correctly spelled '_sure,' _with one hand, he put his pants back on the right way, running a hand through his hair to suffice for brushing it and tossing a shirt over his head. He knew he would regret not taking a moment to grab something to eat, but he rushed out the door with an empty stomach anyway.

.

.

"Wow, what happened to you, Dai-chan?" Satsuki asked by way of greeting, as he fell in step beside her, slowing to a walk.

Aomine sighed, "I don't know what you're talking about." He hadn't had a chance to look at his reflection before fleeing out the door, but it must have been bad to prompt that kind of response.

Satsuki studied him as she walked, and he commanded himself not to shift uncomfortably under the penetrating gaze; gifted data collector or no, there was no way she would be able to sense sexually-satisfied - or rather...sexually hungover - waves emanating from him or something. Unless she took a very accurate stab in the dark, he didn't think she would figure out what had been tiring him out lately. Still, he found himself holding his breath as she scanned him with those dual pink lasers.

"Well you look like you were run over by a truck, and your shirt's on inside out," Satsuki reported cheerfully, breaking the calculating stare.

Aomine might have breathed a sigh of relief that he hoped she hadn't heard, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. "Yeah, well...I woke up late."

"Again?" she blinked, "I keep telling you to go to bed earlier, depriving yourself of sleep isn't going to help you play better."

Aomine snorted, "Better than who? The only one who can beat me is -" He broke off, and almost stopped walking in surprise; he hadn't uttered that statement, his rule, since the Winter Cup….since he was defeated - mercifully, wonderfully defeated - for the first time, by…

"Kagami-kun, that's who." Satsuki cut in, "And if you don't get some proper rest, he might beat you again, even worse than before."

_Could he?_ "I won't let it happen. The next time we play for real, he's going down." _And when that day comes, it's going to be incredible._

"Not if you don't take care of yourself. When was the last time you even came to practice?"

Aomine shrugged dismissively, resolutely refusing to show that the action caused a twinge of discomfort, not quite pain. "I've been practicing on my own time, I haven't been slacking off."

Satsuki raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow, "Play and practice aren't the same thing. You don't have anyone drilling you and telling you what you need to work on. I know for a fact Kagami-kun's been going to practice. So has Tetsu-kun, and they're going to be as formidable a force as ever when you face off again."

_Yeah, well...Kagami's also been playing one-on-one against me; I've seen how he's improved for myself._ And he'd improved right alongside him, the equilibrium between them enduring as they met each other at every turn. Even now, despite his claims, he wouldn't be able to pick the most probable victor, if they were to play against each other for real right this moment.

"I'm not afraid of them," he muttered, slipping his hands in his pockets.

"You don't have to be, I just wish you'd take this seriously. You haven't since middle school."

"I am taking it very seriously….believe me."

.

.

Aomine thought about what Satsuki said, when he was supposed to be paying attention in class; neglecting to do so as usual. He knew it was only a matter of time before he and Kagami battled again, and honestly he was itching for that day, a day that he could go all out again, and experience the thrill of not knowing if he was going to win or lose. Maybe he would even access the Zone again….maybe Kagami would too and they would both be untouchable, locked onto each other, eyes and hearts blazing, vying savagely for the next point. He was getting excited just thinking about it, tapping his foot rapidly with mounting adrenaline, unable to sit still.

His phone vibrated against his leg, and he smirked to himself, _Speak of the devil…._ Stealthily removing it from his pocket, he flipped it open, concealed beneath his desk, and selected the new message he'd received from Kagami.

'_Going to be 15 whole degrees and sunny today. we playing after school?'_

'_Definitely,'_ he typed out, '_street court by Seirin, bring a ball. then some fun at your place?'_

Only a few seconds passed before Kagami replied, possibly betraying eagerness. '_Basketball and sex. sounds good to me.'_

Aomine grinned, '_never did hear you beg last night.'_

This reply took more time, and he wondered if Kagami was hesitating, or if he'd gotten busted for texting in class.

Then, '_should I make up for that?'_

'_...I'm listening.'_

It took several minutes before Aomine's wish became Kagami's command, but the result wasn't what he expected, and the further his eyes skimmed down the message, the greater his amusement grew.

'_Please, Aomine, when the weather gets warm, play with no shirt. I want you to steal the ball from me and make me chase you all over the court, never quite catching you, then just when I'm giving up hope, please… slow down and let me block you, and then we can wrestle for the ball and shove each other and pant for breath, and our sweat will mix until one of us comes out victorious at last.'_

It took all of Aomine's willpower not to burst out laughing, but he was sure he'd made some kind of muffled snort, stifled against his hand...and made several people glance over, befuddled by what could possibly be so hilarious about quantum mechanics. _Well I can't say he's not creative; that was a masterpiece._

He waited for attention to return to the professor, and then responded, his thumbs fumbling slightly, still shaking with bottled up mirth, '_Basketball sexting, A+.'_

.

.

It was very rare that Kagami took off Tatsuya's ring when he wasn't playing or sleeping, but this was getting ridiculous. The rough, hard metal of the chain rubbing against the raw skin where it had bit into his flesh the night before - worse than ropeburn - was starting to make him think being abraded by the blade of a guillotine would be more comfortable, and when he'd gingerly touched the area and withdrew his fingers to see them smudged with blood, he'd removed the necklace before it could do any further damage. When he'd gotten the chance to look in the mirror during a washroom break just before practice - though that part of his neck was very difficult to see and he'd had to crane it sideways to catch a glimpse - he noted the reddened line of deep cuts indenting the skin, the places that had been punctured mostly scabbed over now.

Ruefully, he admitted he might have to ask Aomine not to be so harsh with the chain-play, and to refrain for now so the area could heal. He knew both of them liked to be rough, but they didn't have to be injured as a result, did they? They hadn't yet discussed boundaries or anything - the very idea of that conversation seemed pretty laughable - but he considered that they probably should, awkward though it might end up being; it was better that they were both safe and comfortable with the exchange.

When practice started, he was surprised when Riko pulled him to the side, looking grimly determined, and he suppressed the urge to run and face her punishments another day. Usually, when she had that look on her face, it meant she was going to tell him she had some new and particularly backbreaking training exercise for him to do, and much as he had those exercises to credit for a good deal of his strength, he really didn't think he could survive them right now.

"Can I speak with you, Kagami-kun?" she asked menacingly, gripping the front of his shirt when she caught him trying to shrink away.

"Uh...s-sure, what for?" he managed meekly. The coach could be truly frightening when she wanted to be; even Akashi's wrath - scissors and all - had nothing on her.

"I've heard from Hyuuga that you've been rather evasive," she said silkily, "So I'm thinking we should have a discussion and clear up any _misconceptions."_

Kagami swallowed, "Alright...what about?" He tried his damnedest to make his voice sound innocently confused….and terrified, which wasn't difficult, hoping she would get the hint and let go of his shirt.

"We believe you're hiding something from us;" Riko explained in a doom-laced, singsong voice, "A certain someone maybe you'd like to name?"

_Her too? Did she set Hyuuga-senpai on me?_ "...What are you talking about?" He knew immediately it was hopeless, she'd see right through the feigned cluelessness.

"I'm talking about these." Finally, she did let go of his uniform, and gestured at the side of his neck. His mind flitted back to looking in that mirror earlier...remembering other, more poorly concealed marks than the one the chain had left on his neck.

_Shit...I can't lie right to her face with concrete evidence to put paid to it. But I certainly can't tell the truth._

"Just tell her, Kagami-kun." Kuroko spoke from right next to him. Kagami glanced at his teammate, having no idea how long he'd been there, and then promptly jumped out of his skin.

"Where did you come from?!"

"It's not like you to be dishonest," Kuroko went on, ignoring the startled demand, "If you don't tell her, I will."

A whole new level of shock utterly wiped out the surprise from a moment ago, "Wait, you…?" One look at those unfazed blue eyes told him everything he needed to know, "How...how long have you known?"

Kuroko blinked, "Since just after the Winter Cup; I had my suspicions."

_That long? And he hasn't breathed a word until now?_ The momentary flash of gratitude toward his "shadow" was quickly replaced by further confusion as he thought about it.

"What gave me away?"

"It wasn't just you, just...the way you looked at each other after the finals, and since then, I've seen you leaving towards Touou after practice most days. I would like to think I know both of you very well, I am surprised you thought I wouldn't figure it out." His voice betrayed no emotion as he delivered this bombshell, remaining calm as ever; it was impossible to tell how he felt about the issue, whether he approved or disapproved.

"Wait, _Touou?"_ Riko interjected, "The Winter Cup? And you say you know both of them well, so…." Her eyes became positively lethal as she fixed Kagami with a piercing glare, "Kagami-kun, are you dating Momoi?"

Kagami exchanged a glance with Kuroko, and the latter shrugged helplessly, as if to say '_Your call...'_

For a brief second, Kagami considered affirming, as it would do less harm even if Riko hated Momoi's guts as much as her bra size….but he remembered what Kuroko had just said, how it wasn't like him to be dishonest. That was the truth, he sucked at lying, and it made him feel awful to do it anyway. Besides, he wanted to be able to trust and be trusted by his team, and that included said team's coach.

He breathed a heavy sigh and shook his head slowly, "If I tell you, will you keep it between the three of us? Promise?"

Riko blinked, and the condemning look she'd been giving him lessened significantly, becoming something almost like concern at his pleading tone.

"I promise…. Unless you want it shared, I'll keep it between us," she said seriously...but then a mischievous grin crossed her face, "Alright, so spill. Who is it?"

Kagami took a deep breath, and braced himself, "...Aomine."

The gossiping smile slipped off Riko's face so fast it shouldn't have been possible, "Wh-what?" she asked blankly, eyes going wide.

"We've….been together since our match against Touou at the Winter Cup. What started as a planned one-on-one game turned into a completely unplanned...relationship."

Riko opened her mouth soundlessly, and then let it close again, like a gasping fish. "...You're joking."

"He's not," Kuroko said levelly, "It's not that surprising, considering the intensity of their duel. They are very much alike."

Kagami looked at him in surprise; though there were places on which they certainly differed, it was true Aomine and himself shared several traits in common, a love for basketball underlying all. Some of their mannerisms and beliefs were like night and day, but when they were together, they not only complemented each other, but fed each other's light with their own. It was like fighting fire with fire, and it was completely addicting.

Riko was silent for a long moment, just staring at Kagami as though looking through him, seeming to be trying to envision him alongside Touou's coarse and spiteful ace, willingly spending time with him.

"...Are you surprised because -?" Kagami began.

"Why him?" Riko interrupted, looking something between grudgingly intrigued and downright horrified, "How did you even…?"

Kagami rubbed the back of his neck uneasily, stopping when he realized he was chafing the cuts there, "I'm not really sure. We were just playing streetball and before I knew what happened I'd lost track of the ball and he'd pinned me down."

"And…?" Riko pressed, seeming cautious, as if afraid she'd receive more information than she asked for.

"And...well...it was a little unclear at the time, what was going on….but thinking back, I'm sure we both were sending our fair share of signals back and forth, and it was a pretty involved game. The rest just kind of fell together."

"Okay...okay, so you and..._Aomine-kun_ are together now, no big deal…" From the way she was wringing her hands, it sure looked like she thought it was a big deal.

"Coach…? You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" Kagami asked softly.

"No. I'm having a hard time believing it myself. Just...go...practice with the others, and let me think about this."

Relieved, Kagami turned to Kuroko, "Alright let's…" But Kuroko had already rejoined his teammates, without Kagami noticing he moved at all. And the last few minutes he'd just been counting on the empty air to back him up if he said something wrong. Well that was comforting.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

This would probably be the fifteenth time that Satsuki would rant at him about cutting class to play basketball. It had been less common for him to do it since he left middle school, but Aomine still had much the same mindset now, when it came to his studies. That he had an athletic scholarship in the bag, and was just wasting his time with the other tedious classes that only succeeded in boring him out of his skull and provoking him to invent unorthodox uses for notebook paper. So very bored was he, in fact, that he found he would rather walk all the way to Seirin than sit there and listen to the teacher drone on. Dribbling idly against the sidewalk, fresh air in his lungs, he immediately felt invigorated, and with a quick exhalation he jogged the next block, feinting and dodging against invisible defense and maneuvering the ball around his own legs swiftly. One of his gifts was being in complete harmony with the ball, understanding how it acted and moved, and using it almost as a detachable extension of himself, something he could manipulate and send to its destination almost without conscious thought.

He didn't know if Kagami realized what he'd done, when he defeated him at the Winter Cup. He mused on this as he slowed, letting the ball bounce amiably at his side, from the pavement to his hand like a loyal companion. He had done the impossible; what Aomine had deemed to be impossible, and when he'd realized he was being challenged and pushed for the first time in what felt like forever, he'd overflowed with joy and relief. It was like he could breathe again, he could smile again...because, miraculously, he felt passionate about his passion again, and had someone he could share it with at his own level...without having to give half-hearted effort and fake his way to superficial victory.

He'd lost….and though it was a foreign, terrifying concept to him, it was such a sweet, beautiful thing that it had nearly brought him to tears once he got over the shock. But no...he'd actually been the only member of the Generation of Miracles defeated by Seirin who hadn't shed a tear at his defeat. Because to him that defeat wasn't a cruel wake-up call, it was his salvation, and it had opened up endless possibilities before him...as endless as the potential of the light he'd once called dim that was Kagami. He had been in awe of the display Seirin's ace had shown him, shocked to the point that his throat closed up and he felt both furious and ecstatic at once. He hadn't been able to sleep in the days after the match, his head was spinning too fast, his stomach lurching too much too eat anything, and finally he gave in and sought out Kagami, managing to just ask instead of begging to play against him again.

He felt free….like the spark was back; the fire that had let him grin when he played, and fly across the court without worry of trampling weaklings in his path. Of course, he reasoned that he would have to face off against weak opponents inevitably, often, but at least now he wasn't _doomed_ to that. It wasn't all he would ever do forever. And sure, he didn't always feel like he could reach up and touch the sky, not by any means, but the fact remained that he felt happier with a basketball in hand than he did without, and he hadn't been able to say that in years.

When he arrived at the outdoor court near his rival's school, he'd accumulated a thin film of sweat across his forehead and neck, and was just slightly out of breath, but otherwise was no worse for wear from the long walk. He was unfashionably early, but honestly didn't give a damn, and promptly crossed the court at a run, leaping and tossing the orange projectile in his hand over his shoulder casually, knowing beyond a shred of doubt that it would go in no matter how his posture looked. He played sloppily and recklessly on purpose; his communication with the ball was unparalleled, and he didn't need to assume a certain stance or angle to ensure it did as it was told when he handled it. It pissed off his coaches and baffled his teammates, but he didn't like the rigid style most people used when they played, particularly when shooting. On the street there were different rules, and you didn't have time to check if your knees were bent or if your arm was shaped like a swan's neck or whatever when you released a shot.

At first he was fervent and determined, stretching his legs and watching the ball swish again and again through the net, but against himself, his fire quickly depleted under the monotony, and it was less than twenty minutes before he realized he was growing bored and even discouraged, volleying shot after shot at the undefended hoops. When this clicked, he dropped heavily to the ground after his last dunk, and didn't catch the next rebound, letting the ball roll forgotten across the court with a disgusted sigh. It always came back to this.

He slumped against the fence bordering the court and sat down, resting his chin on his elbow, arms folded on his knees. Who was he kidding? So he'd had one successful match in a million - and he hadn't even been _successful_, he had been demoted to another pathetic loser beaten by Seirin - and sure it had been challenging, but who was to say it would be the same next time? He couldn't count on two experiences like that in a row. Besides, maybe he was jumping the gun and Kagami had only been able to stand up to him one time because he was in the Zone….which only happened very occasionally for any athlete. It was probably hopeless to wish for it to happen again. Frustrated, he knotted his fingers in his hair, feeling all the melancholy gloom and doubt - and no small amount of ire - rush back. _What was I thinking? I wasn't, I just….thought things were getting better. I thought they were going back to how they were ._

He'd been encouraged - even commanded - to get stronger, to win no matter what, and while he was part of Teiko's team, he did...relentlessly, and he reached a pinnacle before many of his peers were even out of the gate, leaving him stranded, far above the rest with only the words "always win" to push him on...his team's motto. And when weakness and vulnerability left him, so did the solace...so did his smile. At first he had rejoiced in his newfound strength, before he realized he could only do one thing with it….crush his opponents. So he did just that, but it brought him no satisfaction to see them fall. And he gradually accepted a bitter pill to force down; once he attained such strength, it was impossible to go back to how he was, and once points and trophies and winners and losers were attached, basketball started to seem less fun. Losing was awful, or so he'd been told, but at the time he would have given anything to lose, just to know that it was possible for him….to know there was still room to grow, and people like him who were strong but still able to love their sport. He felt alone, and gradually grew angry and unstable, even wishing he could take all his progress back at times so he could just feel happy again. Not just on the court, but in general. When his enjoyment for basketball was sucked away, so was his enjoyment for most everything else.

He'd thought Kagami had helped...he'd thought he was picking up the pieces and fixing the damage he'd done to his own damn self...but he'd been foolish to hope. The strong weren't meant to enjoy their strength...they were only meant to maintain it and keep the weak in line. And one stolen moment of euphoria, a real challenge, a real defeat, wasn't going to change that.

.

.

Kagami was looking forward to this evening. Despite the awkward atmosphere between himself and the coach, as well as between himself and Kuroko, he was undeterred from wanting to see Aomine; wanting to play against him one-on-one and kiss him ferociously and moan his name as he was dominated and pleasured. His eagerness put an extra spring in his step and made him feel like he was running on clouds, and he reached the streetball court where he'd arranged to meet his boyfriend in what felt like no time at all. Pulling the basketball he was borrowing out from the crook of his arm, he bounced it against the pavement once and made a quick, effortless free throw just to loosen himself up. Only then did he glance about to see if he was the first one to arrive, and his eyes landed on a figure hidden in shadow, hunched at the edge of the court. Startled, he didn't retrieve the ball as it dropped to the ground and bounced away, and felt no inclination to chase it when he recognized the person sitting against the fence as Aomine.

Hesitantly, he approached, unsure what had happened. He didn't seem to be hurt, but Aomine usually had such a strong or careless presence, he wouldn't be seen huddled miserably like this if he had another option.

"...Aomine-kun?" he prompted tentatively, adding in the honorific to attempt to get his attention….to get him to show his face, which was hidden by his hands uncharacteristically at the moment.

Aomine's head snapped up, and Kagami had half a second to register relief that he wasn't bruised or sporting any evidence of a fight, but then he saw his narrow eyes, hollow and flashing with rage.

"_You."_ Aomine growled, standing up in one rapid, fluid motion and gripping the front of his shirt with fingers like talons, _Again today?_ Kagami thought distractedly, utterly nonplussed.

"Wh...what's the matter? What happened?" he asked frantically, trying to pull away.

"It's your _fault!_" Aomine shouted, pushing him violently, "I was fucking fine, and then _you_ came along and made me start to believe -!" He broke off quickly, teeth bared and fists clenched.

Kagami was lost, and had immediately backed down when he was shoved, strongly suspecting Aomine had lost his mind, "What are you talking about? Believe what?"

"That it was possible! That I could be challenged and beaten, that I wasn't invincible and was just a player like the rest of _you!_ But it's not possible…" his voice dropped significantly, though he was still tense and shaking with anger, "The only one who can beat me is me."

Kagami winced; he hadn't delivered that line since their match during the Winter Cup, hadn't even hinted that he still believed the statement held any water.

"But I d-did defeat you," he stammered, "We beat your score and advanced while you didn't -"

"Liar!" Aomine snapped, eyes wild and darting, "It couldn't be. I don't lose. ….I let you win; yes, that must be it, I didn't give everything I had…you couldn't have beaten me."

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, and was only confusing Kagami more the longer he spoke.

"Aomine…? Are...you okay?" he asked slowly, taking a step back.

To his surprise, Aomine laughed unnervingly, starting as a soft, rattling chuckle but eventually bursting out into full-on, hysterical explosions of hilarity, tears coming into the corners of his eyes as he shook his head slowly and rhythmically, like a pendulum.

Kagami reacted without thinking, his hand whipping back before slapping the blue-haired man across the cheek, hard.

"Snap out of it!" he commanded, watching Aomine reel to the side and then meet his gaze, eyes going wide - or...wider than usual, "If you're so convinced that you weren't giving it your all I'd be happy to kick your ass again to set you straight! I defeated you, Aomine. Seirin defeated you. You lost."

And then...as if they'd suddenly gone boneless, Aomine's shoulders slumped, arms hanging limply at his sides. He opened his mouth halfway, but said nothing for a long moment, looking shell-shocked.

His voice was rusted and toneless when he spoke, "I….you're right." He dropped his deep blue gaze to the ground, "You're right, Taiga. I don't know what came over me."

Kagami blinked, not sparing a moment to feel relieved. "That's the first time you've...called me by my first name."

Aomine looked at him with the usual arrogant scowl, "Get used to it, it's what I do to people who help my sorry ass. Tetsu and Satsuki will tell you a tale or two about that."

Kagami shifted his stance, still beyond perplexed, and recovering from a miniature heart attack at what might have been an actual "thank you" in disguise, "...What exactly...happened?"

Aomine tried to shrug noncommittally, but Kagami caught a glimpse of something that almost looked haunted in his gaze as he looked away. "I got here early and had time to start thinking. And I guess I fucked myself up."

"Thinking?" It took him a second, and being subjected to a disparaging look from the other, to realize his tone with that question might have sounded a little offensive, "About what?"

"Winning...losing...what strength means."

Kagami was taken aback; he hadn't really expected him to answer that...Aomine generally didn't divulge much of what he was thinking at any given time.

"And that fucked you up, as you put it?"

"Well yeah," Aomine said, and then gave a fed-up snort, "I was feeling good before, but when I combined overthinking and basketball….it got messy."

Kagami bit his lip, silent for a long moment and trying to sort through what he'd been told...most of which was vague, and interpreting others' implications wasn't exactly his forte, "...Was it because you were on your own?"

Aomine's eyes narrowed, "...What do you mean?"

"Just...you don't usually practice by yourself, do you?"

He seemed to think about it, and then shook his head slightly, "Not since the Winter Cup, and never for long. I'd get bored."

"Maybe more than that…" Kagami muttered.

Aomine blinked, and squinted at him skeptically, "What?"

"Well….maybe you broke yourself off when you started to feel bored, because you'd do this to yourself. But you didn't this time because you were…" ..._Waiting for me to show up._ He felt an inexplicable prickle of guilt, before shoving it aside. He had no reason to feel guilty, neither of them was at fault.

Aomine shrugged again, unenthusiastically, "Who knows." Saying nothing else, he moved over to the side of the court and picked up the two stray basketballs that had rolled together with the almost imperceptible slant of the ground.

"...Do you still want to play?" Kagami asked, mentally slapping himself as soon as the words were out.

His rival sighed, "Not right now. Tomorrow, maybe."

"Okay." He agreed instantly, not wanting to do anything that would possibly set him off again.

Aomine looked at him sideways, and then gave a very small, smug grin, "I'd still be up for going to your place for awhile, though, if that's cool."

Kagami hesitated, half of him wanting to press the subject that had been dropped, about what had triggered Aomine's meltdown, but he let it go for now.

"Sure."

TBC

_((And there you go; a healthy dose of angst. What did you expect, working with me. It comes and goes but it's always present. I'm liking this story, it's fun to write….and that was just four consecutive chapters in three consecutive days….but I will try to work on Ice eventually, when I have the drive._

_Reviews keep me alive and stuff; just food for thought._

_-Shinsun))_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Aomine was silent, as they walked down the cool, twilit street side by side, and Kagami was giving up trying to prompt a response from him. He didn't look upset anymore, at least not angry, but there was still some tension in his shoulders, and his midnight blue gaze fixed on the sidewalk was by turns brooding, troubled, and just plain tired. He plodded on without looking up, perhaps relying on Kagami to keep him from missing a turn or crashing into something; an aloof, unspoken kind of trust he was grateful for just the same...but his mind kept flitting back to what happened back at the court. He contained a shiver; Aomine was frightening when he was angry, and he had been absolutely, senselessly furious, directing that rage and those cutting words right at Kagami...though he'd probably just lashed out at the first target that presented itself….if it hadn't been Kagami it would have been someone else. And that left Kagami wondering if he would have just started attacking himself if no one showed up to take it. He wondered if he already had been doing that….that might actually explain a lot.

Based on what he'd heard from Kuroko about his days in Teiko, Aomine had been through some tough shit….had learned some hard lessons much too early, about the illusions of grandeur surrounding the word "success". But no one had ever told him to swallow down his enormous ego and accept things the way they were; no one had ever told him mistakes were okay and everyone made them. Rather, he just kept pushing and challenging until there was nothing left to push against, and then he blew up sporadically in a rage before just as suddenly shutting down or running. Unable to face the failure of others...and the absence of failure in himself. Unable to relate to any "normal" people, even outside what fell under the umbrella of basketball. He was a really screwed up kid - and he _was_ still a kid; one tended to forget, gazing into his old, cold eyes - but he hadn't always been that way. The trail of blame was so very twisted that it was impossible to figure out whose fault it was that he turned out like this, but it wasn't solely his own.

Dully, Kagami mused that he would have liked to help him, if he could. For a moment, he'd thought he had; Aomine seemed...lighter, more engaged than he had been, but when he looked at him now...he hadn't really changed all that much. Maybe he just seemed different, or some trick of the light made him seem to smile at times. Not just with his mouth, but his eyes, those merciless beryl blue eyes that had seemed...calmer, the last two weeks or so.

Maybe it had been Kagami's imagination.

He did want to see him smile...it was so rare that an emotion even caused his lips to turn upward in anything but scorn, and he rarely heard a laugh that wasn't a spiteful snicker or...that disturbing bout of maniacal hysteria from earlier today. He swallowed; that in particular was a sound he sincerely hoped he'd never hear again.

Reluctantly, he admitted he was really only thinking this way because he cared about the unbalanced, egotistical idiot. He'd become more than an opponent and an outlet for surging, confused hormones….Kagami wanted to make him happy. He had only seen him appear truly happy, truly content, maybe once; while they were clashing at the Winter Cup, both in the Zone...but right now he thought it would feel worse to play against him than playing against a Tatsuya with an injured arm had felt. Aomine's injury couldn't be seen, but he had a feeling it would inhibit him just as much in a match; he needed to recover from today first...however brief and nonsensical that episode had been, he decided it shouldn't be taken lightly.

He almost bumped right into the door to his own building; his feet running on autopilot and taking him on a memorized route home without him needing to think about directions.

"We're here." he stated, as if it weren't obvious from his sudden halt.

Aomine hung back and gazed up at the rows of windows absently, before meeting Kagami's eyes briefly and giving a numb nod of acknowledgement. Though it was the first physical reaction he'd shown to anything in almost half an hour, Kagami wished he would have said something. His snarky, swaggering rival wasn't usually so quiet and listless….and it was starting to freak him out.

He guided Aomine up the stairs and unlocked the door to his apartment, glancing back as he entered, to see the bluenette trail after him torpidly, hands loosely in his pockets, gaze downcast.

_Maybe he should get off his feet...I don't know if he's feeling unsteady or anything, but he does look tired. Maybe get something in his stomach?_ He floundered, worry gnawing all the way up from his toes much as he tried to banish it and relax. He couldn't help Aomine unless he kept a cool head and focused.

"You can sit anywhere, if you want to." he offered, "...It's pretty late; are you hungry? I could make something to eat."

_Shut up._ He commanded himself sternly, _At least slow down and don't badger him._

Aomine lingered in the doorway a moment, and then slowly drifted over to the wall and leaned against it, cocking up one leg as a kickstand...it couldn't be called a relaxed position, but it was more at rest, and that was a start. He still remained silent, and Kagami began to wonder if he could even hear him.

"...Is there anything I can get you?" he asked uncertainly, "Anything you would like?"

Aomine's eyelids flitted closed a moment, and he sighed soundlessly, "A glass of water?" His voice cracked a little mid-sentence, and Kagami felt something yank on his heart cruelly. It wasn't like him to ask like that, for such a simple thing; normally he would have commanded it, politeness be damned.

He'd never seen his rival in this state...and it was confusing, because he'd seemed to be fine earlier, more or less, once he'd been brought back to Earth by means of being bitch-slapped across the face... His hand twitched at his side with a brief flash of guilt; although it had worked to bring him back to reality, Kagami had essentially kicked him when he was down, because he'd panicked and didn't know what else to do.  
"C-coming right up," he stammered, shuffling to the kitchen quickly to fulfill the request. He fumbled in the cabinets for a glass, almost dropping it when he found one. He didn't know why, but he was shaking slightly, the corners of his eyes burning and stinging with frustration at his own uselessness. He filled the glass from the faucet and threw a few ice cubes in it, returning much more slowly to his company and presenting it to him.

Aomine accepted the cup robotically and took a tentative sip, as if it would poison him. Thereafter, however, he tilted his head back and drained what liquid remained in a matter of seconds, some escaping and running in little rivulets down his chin. Kagami reasoned that he had been exerting himself a lot, and was probably dehydrated, and it was a miniscule relief to see him at least attending to his body's most basic needs. He handed the glass - now empty except for the ice - back to Kagami, and then returned to his previous position, arms folded loosely around his midsection.

A long, awkward silence ensued, and Kagami wasn't sure if he should break it, afraid he'd just be tuned out again, or make things worse, which he was starting to fear he already had….somehow. He wanted to suggest Aomine sit again, or eat, or lie down and rest...or something; the inaction was driving him crazy, and he felt helpless. He didn't know if Aomine was waging an undetectable war within himself, or if he just...wasn't feeling, wasn't doing, anything. He didn't know which would be more worrying.

After several minutes, Aomine shifted his weight, then shifted it back uncomfortably, "My feet are killing me," he muttered colorlessly.

Kagami blinked, surprised to hear him speak, and even more surprised that that was how he chose to go about it. But he was relieved, nonetheless.

_Well I told you you could sit down, idiot._ He thought twice, which wasn't quite normal for him to do, but desperate times…and decided against saying it like that. With Aomine's mood so unpredictable, it would probably be better to lay off the teasing for now.

"I'm not surprised," he responded instead, with a forced facade of calm, "You can take your shoes off and sit, you know….or lie down, if you'd rather. You are a guest, I want you to be comfortable…"

Aomine shrugged slightly, and slipped out of his shoes as bid, locating a chair across the room and sinking into it gratefully without a word.

Kagami pondered this, _Well, as far as I know, he doesn't have another form of transportation available. If he walked to school, then walked to Seirin, and then walked home with me...not to mention he was playing on the street court earlier for however long…no wonder he's wiped out._

He hesitated, and then joined him, leaning an arm against the back of the chair instead of pulling up one of his own. He wanted to remain standing in case Aomine changed his mind and asked for something, but he also wanted to remain close. Actually, he would have liked to touch or kiss him, as a gesture of solidarity if nothing else, and a reassurance that he was still there. But he could feel faintly from where he was standing the soothing warmth Aomine exuded, and he supposed that was enough.

Over his shoulder, he tried to read his rival's expression, expecting to see his brow furrowed in thought or concentration, with the heavy silence that reigned, but his face was completely void...pushing Kuroko on its level of being wiped blank.

He stalled and second-guessed for much too long, and eventually persuaded himself to ask, "...What are you thinking about?" He wanted to cringe in mortification and take back the question, and pat himself on the back for the act of bravery, at the same time.

Now Aomine's elegant eyebrows did lower slowly, drawing together and gradually shaping his expression into a frown.

"I'm trying to decide what's real." he said, in perfect monotone.

Kagami blinked, forgetting his caution for a moment, "What do you mean?"

One navy blue iris shifted into his field of view, as Aomine paid him notice with his eyes, "I remember...losing to you, I remember that day, and what's happened since...but I also don't. I also remember defeating you, and digging the rut ever deeper, with the same crystal clarity. I don't know which to believe...which is real. I don't know how I can justify just one outcome as what 'really' happened. Because I think, somehow...both did. I won, and I lost."

Kagami hadn't expected the longer response, and he wasn't sure what to make of what he heard. It sounded impossible, for two opposite outcomes to both happen at once; one of them had to be the real result. But if they had both played out in the mind, simultaneously...did that make either of them less real? Just because one of them had supposedly been experienced physically - and really, how could that be proven? - did that make it definite?

_Dammit….I'm not cut out for this philosophy bullshit….I don't have an answer._

"You did lose." he muttered, though it was said with noticeably less certainty than earlier today, "It happened….you didn't advance through the ranks and face off against Yosen and Rakuzan, did you?"

"...Did I?" Aomine sighed, rubbing his eyes with one hand, "It's so stupid...everything just seems so unclear; I can't trust anything. Not even my own memory."

"...What brought this on?" Kagami asked after a moment's silence, "Is this what you've been thinking about all this time?"

"Basically. I can't come to an answer that seems right. I mean...I can't prove what's happening right now isn't a dream, but I also can't prove it is; I can't prove we're here, but I also can't prove we're not. I don't know what happened, I just started thinking about it, and…" he trailed off, his voice sounding exhausted.

Kagami's head was starting to hurt, taking this in, and if that was the case after a few minutes...he couldn't even imagine the migraine that must have been mounting on Aomine's temples right now.

"...It seems to me," he said slowly, walking around the chair so he was facing his conflicted rival, "That you thinking on your own for long periods of time is dangerous…" Single-handedly, in one fell swoop, he'd torn down his own self-confidence, his perception of reality, and his certainty of where he stood in the world...and had almost stripped Kagami of his too. All in under two hours.

With a low growl of frustration, Aomine pounded a fist against his own knee, "What do you want me to do? Stop thinking altogether?"

Kagami looked at him, "Yes." Before the scathing, unimpressed look could fully cross his rival's face, he went on, his tone growing softer, "Stop thinking...just leave it alone for now, it doesn't matter what happened. And you're not going to get an answer like this anyway."

"Then how will I?" When Kagami didn't answer this, Aomine fell silent for a long moment, and then grit his teeth, "...I can't stop. My mind won't shut up."

Forgetting to think first, Kagami darted in and swept up his lips, running a hand through coarse, dark hair as he gradually pressed closer. After a few seconds' lack of response, Aomine's eyes dropped closed and he accepted the kiss, hands reaching up and wrapping around Kagami's shoulders to draw him almost into his lap, mouths wrestling with increasing urgency. Kagami could feel him relaxing slowly, letting go of the stress and doubts the overthinking caused, and he rewarded him by drawing his tongue into his mouth and sucking on it, fingers threading repeatedly through his hair in what he hoped was a soothing motion. His free hand smoothed down Aomine's powerful chest lightly, feeling the slight hitch in his breath, and the strong, steady thrumming of his heartbeat.

He felt Aomine's hands slide down around his waist, lightly holding him there and helping him balance, and after a moment he shifted so he was kneeling against the chair for closer contact - though there was hardly room for both of them on it - and leaned up to deepen the kiss, hearing the quiet moan Aomine released in his throat. Releasing his lips to an explosion of breath from both of them, he moved down his rival's neck, leisurely kissing and sucking the taut skin. Aomine's head tipped back slightly, his breathing ragged and heavy, and he wrapped his arms tighter around Kagami as he worked at the flesh of his throat and collarbone.

"Ka… T-Taiga…" he murmured softly, and Kagami felt a wash of pleasure at hearing that from him, giving an encouraging nuzzle below his ear before pricking the skin with teeth, feeling the inaudible gasp he elicited. It wasn't often he got to take full control, and he didn't think it would last, but for now, Aomine was putty in his hands, and he was fairly certain he'd achieved his goal and gotten him to forget about the mess he was dwelling on.

Now he just had to take it a step further, and get him to forget everything except Kagami's name.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Aomine could feel his mind shutting down, thoughts fleeing as Taiga's soft lips attended skillfully to his neck, giving intermittent nuzzles and nips between pressing slow, open-mouthed kisses to the skin. He remembered he had been stressing and agonizing over something - something important - a moment ago, but right now...he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was. Nothing seemed important except for the warm, solid body pressing close to his, the gentle hand stroking up and down his chest while the other threaded through his hair….which just about shut off the synapses in his brain, as if Taiga could access them all through the roots. He wasn't accustomed to the lighter contact; usually between the two of them all touch was rough and voracious, but...he didn't exactly hate the more docile treatment.

His hands traced up Taiga's sides slowly, just concentrating on keeping him there, doing what he was doing...which wasn't a difficult task, as Taiga seemed to be unable to help himself. He also concentrated on breathing steadily - which _was_ becoming more difficult - and stifling the sounds of appreciation he wanted to let out...though he wasn't sure why he held back. His eyes slipped closed, and he just weltered in the sensation, letting his thoughts blur to indistinct pulses behind his eyelids, impossible to catch or decipher.

He started in surprise, startled out of his reverie, when a hot, wet tongue traced the shell of his ear, the strange, slippery action that wasn't unpleasant followed by a series of placid nibbles, the teeth just closing around the skin lightly. A quiet 'ah' escaped his throat without his bidding, fingers clenching in his rival's shirt compulsively, and he pressed into the contact to his chest, back arching away from the chair slightly. He heard an amused chuckle close to his ear, but something told him he wasn't being mocked, and the sound was merely pleased. His eyes slitted open slowly, but immediately squeezed shut again at a sudden, delicate touch to his waist, skimming tantalizingly just above the groin, and he swallowed a building moan.

"Sh-shit, Taiga…." he managed, gulping a breath and lifting his arm so that it was around the redhead's shoulder blades. The wandering hand paused, and then slipped under Aomine's shirt, following the path of his stomach up to his chest. Taiga was still tormentingly light with touch, fingers feathering maddeningly over the skin and making the muscles they brushed against tremble in their wake, starved for more. He shifted, fighting an inclination to squirm and try to get some relief for the tightening pressure in his pants, or make Taiga notice so he would maybe alleviate it in his stead.

Burgundy eyes lowering a moment, Taiga broke away from his ministrations to Aomine's ear to give him a bold smirk he rarely glimpsed off the basketball court, "Uncomfortable?"

"What do you think." Aomine huffed at his smug tone.

"Well I can't help you...if I don't know what you want," his rival prompted teasingly, the hand under his shirt finding a nipple and giving it a twist.

Aomine jolted at the zing of half-pleasure, half-pain, sucking a breath between his teeth with a noise like a growl, "Bastard…I c-could get my own damn self off; I don't need you."

Taiga seemed to roll this idea around in his mind, and then shrugged carelessly, removing his hands from Aomine and bracing them against the back of the chair instead, "Go ahead."

Before Aomine could either scoff or protest, the bastard's mouth was on his again, and he lost the spiteful words in a low groan he forgot to silence, one hand tangling in shaggy, crimson hair, the other releasing his rival's shoulders to drop into his own lap. It seemed he wasn't going to get any assistance - not that he needed it - and if he wanted relief for his discomfort he'd have to reach it on his own. He wanted to scowl with irritation, but then Taiga's tongue was in his mouth again, stroking against his own, and before he could think about it his hand was on the bulge in his own pants, rubbing through the cloth as he wrestled the wet, supple muscle into submission. He could feel a smirk pressed against his own mouth, and - mentally rolling his eyes - he applied pressure with his teeth to Taiga's tongue briefly, threatening to bite it off if he didn't wipe that shit-eating grin off his face. Taiga obeyed the unspoken demand, but Aomine could still fancy he heard him snickering in the back of his mind. Oh, that asshole must have been getting a real kick out of this.

Paying him little mind except to strive to kiss the breath out of him, Aomine lifted his hips in order to lower his pants and better jerk himself off, and his knuckles brushed against Kagami, tingling with the momentary contact to the hard...wait. _He's as excited as I am…_ But instead of conceding to mutual touch, he held himself back...to be entertained by Aomine struggling to satisfy his own self, by whatever means? While that kind of sounded like him, he didn't think Taiga was quite that malicious….and it didn't match up with the rest of the treatment he had been giving up to now. _Is he _trying _to piss me off?_

He didn't know why he would do that, but he wasn't about to dwell on it when he had other matters in mind. If Taiga wanted a show, he was going to get a show….and the bastard had better prepare himself. But if his intent was to make Aomine beg, he was in for a rude awakening. They'd see who was begging, all in good time.

Wrapping his fingers around himself, he gave his hard length a slow stroke, releasing a breath through his nose as he moved his lips, changing the angle of the kiss slightly and leaning up to take control. As he started to slide his hand up and down his own erection, he fucked Taiga's mouth with his tongue savagely, gnashing with his teeth and reveling in the sighing moan he brought out, and he might have heard from the creak of wood that his fingers had tightened their grip on the back of the chair as he braced himself. _You'd better hold on tight, Taiga….you're in for a hell of a ride._

.

.

Over the sensations of carnal pleasure, Kagami could feel an overwhelming surge of relief. It seemed like Aomine was back to his arrogant, pissed-off-at-anything-that-breathes self; back to jabbing and sneering sarcastically with the best of them. The quiet, despondent, lost Aomine he had glimpsed earlier had worried him to no end, and though he didn't know how long the return to normal would last, he was glad he could bring it about with something he was all too willing to give. And sure, once he'd seen that Aomine could take it, he'd played hard to get and made him work for it, because he knew it would infuriate him, and when Aomine was ticked off and feeling challenged, he got passionate and made every effort to prove people wrong.

It seemed he was successful, as Aomine dominated his mouth with an intensity that made his toes curl with pleasure, attacking with teeth and tongue ardently and not even giving Kagami a second to grab a breath. It was difficult to maintain his resolution not to touch, with the lips crushed against his own and the fingers clenched in the back of his hair, holding his head in place, but he told himself the result would be so much sweeter with delayed gratification. He knew Aomine couldn't hold out forever - neither could he - they were both impatient and, in a perfect world, he was fairly sure they would be grinding and making out constantly, everywhere they went, only breaking to play short, heated matches of basketball and devour fifty burgers - whether of the cheese or teriyaki variety - before going right back at it.

Well, it couldn't be said that they didn't share common interests.

Usually, Aomine was not very vocal, even when receiving pleasure, and Kagami was lucky to get a sound from him. He knew it was part of his strength complex; need and desperation were synonymous with weakness in his mind, but apparently he accepted such weakness in Kagami, as he did seem very pleased when he got him to scream...it must have been like victory to him, and he certainly must have been used to that feeling. Sex was one area he seemed all too pleased to best Kagami in, with no complaints of weak opponents who gave in too easily.

Now however, he seemed to be deviating from his controlled, silent tendencies, releasing soft, deep moans and gasps against Kagami's lips as he pleasured himself more vigorously. And Kagami would be damned if he didn't savor each one, feeling his knees - one supporting his weight while the other balanced him against the chair - turn liquid, trembling slightly as his legs struggled to keep him standing. If he could remain standing after pushing them to the breaking point during games, he could do so now. It wouldn't be in his favor if he collapsed in Aomine's lap just hearing him give voice to how good he was making himself feel; he didn't want to give him the satisfaction, at least not yet. And it didn't occur to him for a very long moment that the variance from the norm might have been an act….a deliberate effort on his rival's part to make him lose control.

_Crafty bastard,_ he thought ruefully, once the idea dawned...but, act or no, he could still feel himself melting into a puddle over and over again with every sultry vocalization he heard and felt. And then Aomine outdid himself, giving himself a very slow stroke and breaking the kiss briefly to let out a long, low moan, head tilted slightly back and eyelids fluttering closed.

_Oh god...I'll do anything...anything you want, as long as you keep moaning like that. _He tried to shut the thoughts down, not wanting to give in yet...but just hearing him was torture, when he couldn't be the one bringing out those sounds.

_Just don't...stop…_

He felt the lips returning to his own curl up slightly in a smirk, and the hand in his hair tightened a little, almost like a pleased response. _Crap, did I say that out loud?_ He couldn't remember, but at the moment he honestly could care less.

He couldn't stand it anymore, and unable wait a moment longer, he lunged, pressing his lips harder to his rival's and shoving his body up against him, hands snaring in short, navy blue locks. He felt both of them teetering somehow, and he drew away briefly, only having a moment to feel dazedly confused before the chair toppled over backward with the combined weight that had suddenly been thrust onto it, Kagami landing sprawled on his boyfriend's chest, knocking the wind out of him as he fell flat on his back beneath him.

"Fuck…" Aomine mouthed, unable to speak properly as he strained to get air in his lungs. Kagami was sure he was flushing with mortification; his face felt like it was on fire...maybe he'd overdone it a little bit with the enthusiasm.

Aomine clouted him over the head with one hand, scowling, "Bakagami." he said hoarsely, "Be more careful."

"Are you okay?" Kagami asked after a moment, wincing. After all he'd crashed pretty hard, and had taken Kagami's weight with him.

Aomine shifted with a grunt, as if attempting to push him off of him, "I think you might have crushed my dick and my lungs. Otherwise, I'm just peachy." he muttered flatly.

Kagami shifted back, off of him and now only straddling his legs, and hung his head ashamedly, assuming he'd killed the mood and probably any chance of getting laid with his blunder. But after a moment he felt his rival's gaze resting on him, the hunger in those blazing indigo eyes by no means diminished.

"You'll have to make up for grievously injuring me of course," he taunted. His hand moved away from his own cock, still standing rigidly to attention, directly in Kagami's line of sight from where he was crouched astride him, "Care to apologize?"

He was fairly sure he understood Aomine's intent, and as he was a little dumbstruck at the moment with embarrassment, it seemed he planned to put his tangled tongue to good use. He leaned in obediently, mouth an inch from the glistening, solid flesh, when Aomine pressed a hand to his forehead restrictively, holding him in place.

"First tell me what you want," he leered, fingers snagging in Kagami's bangs.

Kagami tried to pull away from the grip, but it only tightened, demanding, and he worried he'd lose the section of hair that was currently in his rival's fist. He made a sound that might have come out like a whine of protest, but swallowed his pride and grit out a single reluctant syllable, "You."

"Not good enough," the bluenette chided, eyes half-lidded as a smirk spread across his face, "Tell me. ….In detail."

Kagami's dignity fought tooth and nail, but he recognized that he didn't have a choice, and his eyes squeezed shut as he swallowed once dryly, "I want...to suck you. I want to taste you and feel you all the way down my throat...I w-want to hear you moan, as you cum all over my face."

Aomine raised an eyebrow slightly, and then his pleased smirk grew wider, more predatory, and he released the hair in his grasp, "Was that so hard?"

"Asshole." Kagami replied shortly, dipping his head and tracing his tongue up the head of Aomine's arousal, digging it against the slit as he took the tip in his mouth. He heard Aomine hiss a breath, and watched his eyes close slowly as he slid more of the stiff member down his throat, suppressing his gag reflex and taking him to the root, sucking strongly. Aomine's head fell back blissfully, and his hips lifted slightly, almost choking Kagami, though the bastard didn't seem to care.

"Taiga….fuck…." he panted, powerful hands bracing against Kagami's shoulders, which was about as far down as he could reach from where he was. Glancing at his rival as he gasped for breath in ecstasy, hearing his first name uttered like a prayer, Kagami responded with a soft moan, muffled against his mouthful, and promptly forgot why he was mad at the unfairly gorgeous idiot in the first place.

Even when Aomine was vicious, whether teasing or intentionally being cruel, Kagami honestly couldn't stay angry at him, and that had him pretty stumped, because he'd dealt with his fair share of moronic jerks, and certainly didn't harbor a soft spot for any of _them_. There were plenty of plain decent people too, for whom he still didn't feel the same level of compassion, even if he cared about them to whatever degree. And he was willing to forgive Aomine's flaws even if he stared them right in the face and acknowledged them every day. He didn't want him to change, he just….wanted him. He wanted to be the person marked by his brutality, but he also wanted to be exempt from it, for his rival's hands to be tamed and made gentle just for him. He wanted to be an exception; and he supposed in a way, he already was. He knew Aomine saw him alone as his equal, as his rival...and maybe the person he was willing to lower a few barriers for. He'd seen him smile - fleetingly, maybe one or two times total - he'd seen him scream and he'd seen him shut down; he'd never seen him cry, though he did wonder if he would someday. He was just human, after all...for all his bravado.

He enjoyed their faux arguments and back-and-forths, their teasing and competitions to see who would turn sailor first with the dirtiest swears….but he also enjoyed the calmer, more amiable moments, though currently those were much more rare. He really just enjoyed Aomine; the whole package, and nothing less...even if it sounded a little ludicrous to admit to others, and even to himself, and sometimes he still caught himself staring at the bastard wondering what the hell he liked so much about him. But then he'd give a heart-stopping smirk, call him 'Bakagami' teasingly and maybe steal a kiss or ruffle his hair, and he'd remember all right. He'd remember why he dragged his feet when they had to part, why his head snapped up at the mention of his name, why just looking at him made his heart start to pound in his chest.

And as his beautiful, terrible rival threw back his head with a ragged, drawn-out groan of orgasm, releasing spurts of hot, bitter liquid into his throat, and almost into his eyes, he wanted to frown deeply and laugh out loud, confusingly at the same time. Because he was certain now; he was falling in love with Aomine, and coming to terms with that astounding, terrifying fact was probably going to be his undoing. But man...what a way to go.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"...I should go," Aomine muttered, having finally caught his breath. After he'd come down from the mind-numbing release, he had been quick to return the favor for Taiga - following his suggestion and moving to the bedroom, as the floor was becoming uncomfortable against his back - and it hadn't taken long at all for the gasping, trembling redhead to reach his own peak, all but howling in completion as he shot his seed down his throat. Then, he'd curled up where he was; one arm around Aomine's waist, using his chest as a pillow with one ear pressed flat right over his heart, and he hadn't moved since. "It's already dark outside; my parents will think I've vanished off the face of the Earth if I don't head back."

"Then call them and tell them where you are," Taiga said noncommittally, glancing over at him, "You've already walked all over the place today, and it's too far. It'd be midnight by the time you got home."

Aomine opened his mouth to say something, but was mute for a few seconds, "I can't - ….Staying overnight without letting them know beforehand? They'd kill me."

Taiga shrugged, "Tomorrow's the weekend; it's not like we've got school."

"That's not…" he sighed with a mixture of exasperation and weariness and covered his eyes with one hand, "Taiga, that's not the point."

His rival was silent for a moment, his unique eyebrows furrowed, and Aomine imagined he could hear the rusty gears in his mind turning.

Finally it seemed to click, "...You think they'd draw the wrong conclusion if you told them you were staying out all night."

"No, they'd draw the _correct_ conclusion." Aomine retorted sharply, "I am doing exactly what they're afraid I'll start doing….breaking every rule in the book. What excuse would be believable?"

"...Right." Taiga mumbled, sounding crestfallen.

Aomine breathed another low sigh, "I just...I'm already toeing the line, by how late I stay out without telling them where. This would be enough to get me grounded for the rest of my life, and if they knew about…" he swallowed, "..._us_ -"

"You think they'll kick you out." Taiga interrupted.

"They _will_." Some of the anger and frustration returned to Aomine's voice, "Their straight-as-an-arrow basketball star son, a homosexual? Not under their roof; they'd make it so I was never even born."

"They couldn't do that -"

"They'd find a way."

Taiga fell silent again, and then frowned, sitting up, "I'm surprised at you, Ahomine." He ignored the beginnings of Aomine's protests and went on, "Where's your usual 'fuck-the-police' attitude? You're sounding like a worrywart."

"They're my _parents._" he pressed, holding the garnet gaze to emphasize the point, "Maybe it didn't mean as much to you in the states, but they're the only family I've got." Taiga almost sounded like he _wanted_ Aomine to get thrown out...and while he understood it was probably just because he liked the idea of having him as a roommate, he didn't think he would get over their rejection, at least not for some time. At the very least, it would sting...a lot.

"As far as I know…" Taiga said slowly, seeming to actually be thinking about what he was saying instead of blurting out whatever came to mind, "Family in America means the same thing it means here. I just meant...you don't usually overthink things so much and stress yourself out. I don't know how vicious your parents are, but I doubt they'd kick you out if you just said you got stuck out late and you didn't want to walk home for miles in the dark."

Aomine lowered his gaze, "And then I'd get the thousand unanswerable questions."

"So don't answer those," Taiga shrugged, "Just say you lost track of the time; that you're with a friend from the Winter Cup and you'll be home tomorrow."

While the whole plan still sounded insane, Aomine had to admit his rival was thinking of important factors. Emphasizing his quick return and that it was basketball-related, for example, would put his folks' minds to rest much more than if he just said he was out with a friend in the middle of the night.

"Besides," Taiga added, "You haven't eaten in how long?"

Right on cue, as soon as his mind turned to food, Aomine's stomach growled angrily, reminding him he hadn't eaten a morsel all day. If he tried walking home now there was a fair chance he'd collapse from hunger.

Setting his teeth, he let out a slow, resigned exhale, "Fine. I'll stay for dinner and call them. But if they're pissed and tell me to get my ass over there, I'm hitting the road no matter how late it is."

Taiga grinned with what looked like an irritating flash of triumph, "Aww, look at little Ahomine minding his parents."

Immediately, the idiot found himself being socked in the arm, hard, and Aomine sat up as well, glowering at him, "I dare you to say that again," he snarled.

"No way, I'm not suicidal," Taiga replied breezily, jumping to his feet and out of Aomine's range before he could hit him again. This launched a full-scale teasing scuffle all the way to the kitchen, both doing their fair share of tackling and wrestling but neither managing to come out on top. A truce was finally unanimously called with both of them in a tangle on the floor, panting and laughing breathlessly; as unable to truly best each other in this arena as in any other. That, somehow, was a huge reassurance to Aomine. They were equals. When factors like teamwork, time limits, and luck were removed, they couldn't cancel each other out.

It took him a moment to realize Taiga was staring at him, looking distantly mesmerized, as if studying a fascinating but unfathomable abstract painting.

"What?" he asked, still short of breath.

"...You have a nice smile." his rival said after a moment, showing one of his own briefly, "I hardly ever see it."

"Shut up, idiot." Aomine muttered, shoving him down on his back dismissively and standing up.

.

.

Kagami was so happy he couldn't stand still, so he busied himself with making dinner while Aomine tried to get ahold of his parents; leaning against the side of the doorway to the kitchen with his phone up to his ear, a look of utmost concentration on his face. Watching him occasionally as he stirred things together, eventually Kagami caught a flicker of nerves come into the darker man's eyes, and he assumed they'd picked up. Aomine opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it just as quickly, rolling his eyes slowly, and from the fuzzy commotion Kagami could hear, he guessed that he was already being ranted at, before he could get a word in edgewise.

After almost a solid minute of this, he spoke over whoever was biting his head off, raising his voice slightly in order to be heard, "Calm down, I get it. I should have called earlier, but I got caught up and forgot, now will you listen for a second? ...Alright. I'm with someone from the Winter Cup, one of Seirin's players? ….Yes, the team I lost to. ...Uh-huh. Anyway, since it's really late and really far to walk, would it be okay if I stayed here for the night and came home tomorrow?"

There was a long, ominous silence, and Aomine crossed his arms, phone sandwiched between his shoulder and cheek, "...Because I don't particularly want to trek all the way across Tokyo in the middle of the night. He says he'll feed me and I can walk home first thing in the morning. ...What do you mean 'prove it'? Do you want to speak to him?" He shot Kagami an 'i-told-you-so' glare, and - feeling a little guilty for eavesdropping - Kagami quickly turned back to the curry he was making, though he kept an ear to the ground just the same, to try to denote the outcome of the phone call.

Eventually, Aomine hung up, and traipsed over to him, slipping his cell phone back into his pocket.

"Well?" Kagami asked, switching off the burner and opening a cabinet to find some plates.

"They're not pleased," Aomine said bluntly, "...But neither did they jump at the chance to come pick me up in the dead of night, so they said I could stay as long as I didn't make a habit of this."

Kagami had to restrain himself from punching the air victoriously, but even without that gesture he was fairly sure Aomine could tell he was enthusiastic about this turn of events.

"_But_," Aomine went on, emphasizing the word and poking him in the chest, "I am leaving first. Thing. Tomorrow."

"Got it," Kagami grinned, unable to contain his excitement regardless, "So, who's hungry?"

"Starving." his rival muttered, peering over Kagami's shoulder, perhaps to discern if the food would in fact be edible. Judging from the fact that he said nothing else, it seemed he found it satisfactory enough in appearance, and he started wolfing down what was on his plate the moment it was handed to him, only seeming to register what it tasted like after he slowed down his famished pace. "Hm...this is actually good. I'm surprised."

Glowing with the praise from such an unlikely source, Kagami started on his own plate, noticeably slower than his usual frenzy that would have matched Aomine's a moment ago, "Well I'd be pretty miserable if I lived alone and couldn't cook for myself." he pointed out, "I'd die of freezer burn poisoning."

"Still, the most complex thing I can cook is toast, and I still burn that about forty percent of the time. I may have some use for you after all."

Kagami tsked and shook his head slowly and condescendingly, "Poor thing, how will you survive college without your mommy and daddy to fix your meals?"

Aomine stopped with a bite halfway to his mouth, "Good as this is, I will smash all of it on your stupid head, I swear to God. And in answer to your question, that's where you come in. My own personal chef, forever sworn into servitude for daring to make fun of me."

"Right, the only one who can make fun of you is you," Kagami teased, but then he thought about it and blinked at him, "...We'd go to the same school?"

Aomine snorted, "You expect me to enroll somewhere by myself and just destroy a bunch of nameless weaklings over and over again for however many years? No thank you. At least I'd have some kind of entertainment if you were there to destroy instead...with a tiny bit more effort."

"I'm touched," Kagami drawled sarcastically, though actually, it was the truth...and if it was at all possible, he decided he would go with him in a heartbeat, and follow him anywhere. "But you'd better watch out; you've ended up on your ass against me once, it could happen again."

To his slight surprise, Aomine smirked zealously, as if the very idea was thrilling...which seemed a little odd considering that idea was his defeat, "I look forward to it."

.

.

Aomine had considered being a man of his word and sleeping on the couch, like he'd told his parents he would be doing, but the prospect of a real bed was much more tempting, and he figured if he was breaking the rules, he might as well go all the way. Besides, Taiga's puppy-dog eyes were a force that was impossible to resist, so he found himself being dragged into bed by the idiot with only minimal, necessary protest. And the first thing Taiga did was press a deep, unexpected kiss to his mouth, crawling on top of him and combing his fingers through his hair.

"Aren't you...nh...sated yet?" Aomine muttered when the kiss broke, interrupted mid-sentence by another, shorter one.

"Nope," Taiga responded hastily, with a short laugh, reuniting their lips with a fierce vengeance...and after a moment's reluctance, Aomine sighed and just accepted it.

A heavy, heated make-out session ensued, and Aomine went from tolerance to exuberance very quickly, but even as he ground against Taiga's undulating hips and fought eagerly with his mouth, it didn't take long for exhaustion to rear its head, as the long day and his previous lack of sleep finally seemed to catch up. The fervor of their kissing slowed, the grinding and biting and sucking gradually falling away, and they just lay side by side facing each other, arms wrapped around one another and lips meeting and parting leisurely, moving together softly as they touched and tasted. Taiga had intertwined their legs, another form of embrace, and though his actions were as relaxed and tired as Aomine's were, he still simply couldn't seem to get enough of him. Eventually he let Aomine's mouth go and just dropped light, lingering kisses on his cheeks and forehead, arms loosely looped around his neck.

After several minutes of this, Taiga finally stilled, and Aomine could feel his warm breath against his collarbone, slow and deep, but every time he started to think he'd fallen asleep he would feel the flick of eyelashes as he blinked, or another butterfly kiss would be placed on his skin.

"Go to sleep, Bakagami," he muttered, as Taiga stirred slightly and nuzzled against his neck.

"Sorry," his rival yawned, "You're just kind of irresistible."

Aomine blinked and fell silent. How was he supposed to respond to that? He was unsure, so he didn't, just resting his chin on top of the head of unruly red hair, holding his stupid, sappy boyfriend against his chest as they both nodded off.

It was the first good night's sleep he'd had in a fortnight.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Kagami awoke groggily, surrounded by warmth and the strong, masculine scent of his boyfriend, wreathing around him like a second blanket. He could feel Aomine's broad chest expanding and relaxing slowly and rhythmically as he breathed, and one lean arm was draped across Kagami's midsection loosely, the unconscious gesture conveying protectiveness that he didn't think he'd ever seen Aomine show in the waking world. Smiling softly to himself, he glanced up at Aomine's reposed, handsome face, noticing his eyes darting beneath his eyelids. _Wonder what he's dreaming about…_ he thought absently.

He felt Aomine's fingers twitch against his hip, then his legs shifted, almost as if mimicking a running step. _God, he's like a freaking dog...running in his sleep._ It was actually kind of cute, he realized, though the amount of cute attributes the harsh, crude, tough Aomine Daiki possessed added up to almost nil...or at least that was how it should be. But somehow, gazing at the tufts of dark hair mussed up with sleep, the sporadic shifting of pupils behind closed eyes, the very slight part of lips he knew to be deceitfully soft, he couldn't help but feel endeared.

He would have liked nothing more than to curl up beside his powerful, yet adorable boyfriend and rejoin him in sleep, but light was already showing through the curtains, and reluctantly, he acknowledged that Aomine had to leave. If left to his own devices with no alarm to wake him, he'd probably sleep until at least noon - he knew this because there had been times the idiot had answered his phone grumbling and slurring with half-sleep at about two o'clock in the afternoon - so he leaned up slowly and brushed his lips against his forehead, then against his slack mouth; increasing the pressure of the kiss when this yielded no response and gently biting his lower lip. Startled blue eyes snapped open, and Kagami could see the beginnings of sleep-addled questions and protests forming in them, before being utterly washed away when Aomine seemed to remember where he was. Rewarding his return to the land of the living, Kagami's tongue ventured into his dazed mouth, lips wrestling with the softer, albeit drier ones, chapped from lack of use. Gradually, he withdrew to let Aomine breathe and clear his head, as his responses still seemed to be fuzzy in the limbo between awareness and sleep.

"What're you doing?" Aomine mumbled, blinking a few times and taking in his surroundings.

Kagami let a grin slide onto his face, amused, "Waking you up."

Aomine's gaze returned to his, and a tiny, delirious smirk flitted across the lips that had just been in Kagami's possession, "Do continue…"

Kicking him once under the sheets, Kagami couldn't force the grin off his face, and his words shook a little with mirth when he spoke, "Get up, you lazy moron; you were the one who said you were leaving first thing. That was just a makeshift alarm."

Aomine seemed to consider this, and his smirk widened a little, "Usually I need three or four to get me up."

"Nice try," Kagami snickered, rolling out of the loose embrace Aomine had maintained even after waking, and standing up beside the bed, "You'll just have to make do without. Now let's go."

With a reluctant groan, Aomine covered his head with the blanket and curled in a ball, "Five more minutes…"

_He's such a child,_ Kagami thought in amazement, resisting the urge to jump back in and snuggle up to his warmth. Shaking his head to himself, he moved over to the foot of the bed, and promptly yanked the blanket off of Aomine, getting into an honest-to-God tug of war over it before the other surrendered it with a huff and curled up tighter, hugging his knees to his chest. A six foot three, generously muscled man wrapped stubbornly in the fetal position - actually pouting, though it was difficult to believe - ….it was enough to incite Kagami to burst out laughing.

Apparently, Aomine didn't like being laughed at, because he straightened out and shot Kagami a petulant scowl, but still didn't budge from the bed.

"If you don't get up, so help me I'll tickle you within an inch of your life," Kagami threatened teasingly, poising his fingers like claws.

Aomine blinked, with what might have been a flash of fear, and then the scowl returned, "You wouldn't d - _agh!"_

Undeterred, Kagami proceeded to prove him wrong, and the larger man broke off mid-sentence as wicked fingers pounced on his feet, attacking the sensitive soles and toes, the objecting exclamation dissolving into helpless laughter as he tried to jerk them out of reach. One foot got free and collided soundly with Kagami's face as Aomine's athletic leg pumped reflexively, and, recoiling with a string of curses, he released him, gingerly feeling his nose to make sure it wasn't broken or bleeding.

"Son of a bitch," he swore under his breath, the whole area throbbing something vicious, as if it had been very suddenly introduced to a sledgehammer.

Aomine sat up, appearing to Kagami's streaming eyes to be giving him a 'serves-you-right' sneer, which gradually faded to a look of concern, though it very well may have been his imagination.

"Next time steer clear or you'll lose what little brains you have left; I don't know my own strength. ….Actually I do, and it's pretty devastating." he added, which Kagami supposed counted as a roundabout way of asking if he was okay….maybe.

"Well, my nose is still in one piece, but I'm probably going to have a bruise the size of your ego by the time it stops throbbing…"

Aomine's arrogant sneer returned, once it became evident Kagami hadn't suffered any serious injury, "If it was that big, it would cover your entire face and then some," he remarked.

"Shut up," Kagami said without heat, standing up straight, "...I take it from your dramatics back there you have time to stay for breakfast?"

The change of subject was more effective in getting Aomine to fall silent than telling him to be quiet, and he bit his lip thoughtfully before hunching his shoulders in a shrug.

"Sure. I mean, you owe me for that surprise attack and all..."

Kagami glared at him, "And here I thought having my teeth kicked in was payment enough."

"Oh, stop whining and grow a pair," Aomine muttered, getting to his feet and stretching with flourish, the lithe muscles of his shoulders and back flexing and pulling obviously under the straining fabric of his shirt. Forgetting to come up with a witty response, Kagami just watched him, entranced, heart thudding somewhere around his Adam's apple.

Swallowing hard to try to fix the situation - as he couldn't speak or even breathe while being choked by his own pulse - he was both relieved and disappointed when Aomine turned to face him, arms falling back to his sides. He was pretty sure his face was starting to match the color of his hair, and he prayed Aomine would think it was because it had been smacked by his foot, not because he'd been all but drooling over his flawless body.

.

.

"You sure you can't just stay awhile longer?" Taiga wheedled, one hand skimming down his arm as the two sprawled on the couch, a few plates of food on the floor below, mostly cleared spotless.

Aomine rolled his eyes, "I told you, I have to go. Don't be so clingy, it's gross."

Taiga bristled with offense, and Aomine couldn't help but smirk; his rich red eyes were gorgeous when they flared with anger, and Aomine was guilty of purposely antagonizing him, often, just to see it. Besides that, it was fun to mess with him, especially because Taiga could and would fight back, just as scathingly. They argued viciously, and judging from how often their fighting blurred right into fierce kissing, he was willing to hazard a guess the clashes were pretty exhilarating for both of them.

And Taiga proved him right, unable to resist jabbing back, "You were the one clinging last night, I don't think you stopped hugging me from the moment you fell asleep."

Aomine snorted, suppressing a flash of self-consciousness; was that true? "I was trying to strangle you," he shot back easily, "Maybe crush your ribs...you know, like an anaconda or something."

"So I've been sleeping with snakes now…" Taiga sneered, "Always had a feeling you were spineless."

"Snakes have spines; shows what you know." Aomine retorted, "At least act like you've got a brain."

"Better brainless than spineless,"

"Better spineless than ball-less,"

"You would know,"

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you!"

"Been there, done that." Aomine smirked.

"Did the lack of balls make it easier for you?"

"Aha! So you admit it!" Aomine shouted triumphantly.

"Asshole." Taiga growled.

"Takes one to know one,"

"Bastard."

"Takes one to -"

"Shut up!"

Aomine paused a beat, and grinned savagely, "Why don't you make me?"

The words were hardly out of his mouth before the redhead's fingers snagged in his hair and their lips slammed together, all teeth and tongue, panting and groaning and groping for closer contact as the fire between them blazed.

When he broke away, Taiga was gulping air and flushing darkly, chestnut eyes burning and glazed with pleasure. His own chest was heaving against the warm body pressed to his, his heart hammering with excitement as he tried to get ahold of himself and refrain from shoving his rival down on his back and taking him right there.

"_God, I love you..."_ Taiga murmured breathlessly; and he blinked, the almost inaudible, unfamiliar English words jumbling in his ears. The tone, however, registered loud and clear and frighteningly fervent.

"What did you say?" he asked, and his rival blinked before looking at him steadily.

"_I'm in love with you."_ There was something in Taiga's gaze as his lips outlined the foreign statement, something tentative, experimental, and yet heartfelt.

He fought the inclination to roll his eyes; it didn't seem the appropriate response and would probably piss Taiga off in a non-desirable way.

"I can't understand you, idiot. If you're going to say something, stop being a pussy and say it."

His knowledge of the English language sucked, to be honest, but the words he was hearing sounded strangely familiar, as though he'd heard them repeated in just about every piece of American media available, gradually getting the gist of what those celebrities spoke of and singers sang of without actually translating. Right now Taiga wasn't communicating; he was throwing words at a soundboard that only vaguely got what he meant, just enough to be infuriatingly confused.

Taiga fidgeted, something Aomine had not known him to do, nervousness screaming from his darting, vibrant eyes.

"...Nothing." he said quickly.

Pushing his irritation aside, Aomine forced patience, "Not nothing; what were you saying?"

"Don't you have to leave?" Taiga tried, refusing to meet his gaze.

This time he actually did roll his eyes, "Yes, but that can wait."

"Why is it so important?"

Aomine threw up his hands in frustration, "You tell me! You're the one sending mixed signals here."

"You're the one prying like your life depends on it!" Taiga snapped back.

Aomine started to retort, but then broke off, "Fine. Your thoughts are your own; I'm leaving." He shoved to his feet, locating his shoes and slipping into them.

Taiga seemed to hesitate, wrestling with himself, and Aomine wondered if he would cave and say what he'd been skirting around, or if he'd say nothing at all.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He burst out finally, looking up at Aomine.

Stopping briefly in the doorway, Aomine glanced at him over his shoulder, and then sighed, "Whatever."

He let the door click closed behind him, and left the apartment behind without a second glance, but he couldn't get the momentary look of panic in those familiar red eyes out of his head.

.

.

Kagami wanted to throw something, hit something, hit himself…this was the difference between their usual teasing banter and a real, hit-hard argument. And really, it was over something just as stupid as their fake disagreements typically were, and was completely avoidable. He understood Aomine was just confused and frustrated at the lack of answers and the literal miscommunication between them, and he hadn't made it easy on him, clamming up like that.

But - and he loathed to acknowledge it - he was afraid. Afraid of how Aomine would respond, of rejection, yes, to some degree….but mostly afraid of being wrong, being trapped, if he verified what he'd been cautiously half-admitting; cowardly hiding the confession in another tongue so he could analyze his own feelings about it before bringing in Aomine's.

What if he was mistaken, and the sentimental word he cloaked admiration and attraction in failed him? What if it wasn't love, just passing infatuation, and he'd have to take it all back as soon as he offered it? He couldn't take something like that back...especially not from someone like Aomine; he couldn't be weak...couldn't let him down when so many others had. Besides that, he didn't know what would happen once it was a real and understood fact between them; he didn't know how it would affect their already barely-balanced relationship. Things were spontaneous and fluctuating enough as it was without throwing a complicated subject like love into the mix.

And, above all, he was afraid of loss. That fear had caused him to do some stupid things in the past, like turning Tatsuya on him when their bond as brothers was threatened, and when Aomine had walked out the door a moment ago, something in him had tensed up, aware of how easily what he said could be parting words, for good. Though the idiot drove him nuts and was a terrible, horrible influence on him...he didn't want to lose him. He didn't want to lose what they had.

But, he couldn't deny the realness of his feelings, at least as far as he understood them. There was a _passion_ between himself and Aomine that didn't end on the basketball court, that much was obvious, but it was the little things - like that his heart jumped into his throat when he remembered how beautiful Aomine was, or that he sometimes forgot how to speak when he smiled at him - that made Kagami suspect he felt more than that. Wanted more than that. Going after what he wanted was a tremendous risk; he knew that...but he had never backed down from a challenge, and he wasn't about to start now.

"_I love him,_" he told himself, staring at his own hands braced on his knees. Turning one of them over, then the other, he switched to his first language after a moment's hesitation; the confession sounding and _feeling_ completely different, making his stomach twist and his pulse race with elation and nerves.

"I love Aomine."

TBC


End file.
